2021 STATE OF RECONCILIATION IN AUSTRALIA REPORT - MOVING FROM SAFE TO BRAVE SUMMARY REPORT
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2021 STATE OF RECONCILIATION IN AUSTRALIA REPORT MOVING FROM SAFE TO BRAVE SUMMARY REPORT
Foreword
Thirteen years ago, we witnessed a pivotal moment in Australian history and a seismic shift towards
reconciliation: the Apology. While long overdue, we can credit the timing of the 2008 Apology to an urgent
act of bravery—to finally and formally acknowledge the suffering caused by decades of mistreatment of
Indigenous Australians.
In preparing this foreword, I could not help but reflect on the day of the Apology. So many Australians had
done the hard yards in the lead up to that day by learning about our shared history to better understand
why an apology was necessary. Together, we stood in schools, workplaces, public places, lounge rooms
and on bridges in solidarity and unity, sharing a moment of deep reflection, sorrow, and pride to be
Australian. On that day, I remember saying that we looked in the mirror, and we liked what we saw.
Some of the nation’s most important and difficult work is reflected in the work of Reconciliation
Australia over the last 20 years. As Reconciliation Australia’s inaugural Chairman, I have witnessed the
key milestones, challenges and lofty aspirations that have shaped our thinking and hopes for a better
tomorrow. The 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report presents that well-worn path and expertly
examines the progress we have made, and the way forward.
The five pillars of reconciliation, as set out in detail in the report, give us a strong framework for attention.
Action on these pillars can only be realised by being truthful; truthful to ourselves and truth-telling.
That truth must begin by owning our personal biases, and confronting our nation’s collective racism,
both overt and covert.
Bravery in the face of racism will be our change agent. Now is the time to take a deeply personal journey
and have the uncomfortable conversations. And we need to extend those conversations to those within
Reconciliation Australia
our sphere of influence, both professionally and personally. We might feel a degree of safety when
PO Box 4773 discussing our organisation’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), for instance, but are we prepared to step
Kingston ACT 2604 up our leadership roles, tackle racism head on and drive a reconciled nation at the risk of losing the
Tel: 02 6153 4400 support of constituents, or shareholders, or colleagues along the way?
reconciliation.org.au Personal conversations are perhaps even harder to begin but are critically important. Are you willing to
Reconciliation Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners challenge those you love despite the fear of losing their respect? Are you willing to risk social isolation
of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing or your popularity at the next dinner party because you’ve challenged a racist comment? When we dig
connection to land, waters and community. deep, we will stand together once more, in the knowledge that we are a mature and courageous nation.
And the rewards of our actions will enrich all Australians and our national identity.
We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of Country and
Brave is when we listen, challenge, and learn about ourselves and others. Brave is saying that you’re
their cultures; and to Elders both past and present.
ready to delve into the very things that hold you together; your bias, beliefs and values. Brave is when you
refuse to accept inertia.
The global health pandemic has brought immeasurable hardship, loss and anxiety to many this year.
Yet despite the enormous and ongoing challenges, the pandemic has in some respect provided many
Australians with a gift. Through enforced isolation, job loss and instability, many of us have experienced
a rare moment of insight into what it’s like to experience the powerlessness, lack of financial security and
food security, social exclusion and disengagement, and poor mental health that so many of our Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters face. We can choose now to harness this empathy and use
it as a tool to discredit our personal bias and reject discrimination, with relentless determination.
Many of our young Indigenous people and emerging leaders are already leading this charge. In both
mainstream media and social media, we have heard their voices banging on the door of racism,
demanding to be heard and dismantling barriers to a truth-telling nation with a palpable sense of urgency.
They will be our leaders in decades to come and we, as a reconciliation community, have a duty now to
help them reclaim their narrative.
The measure of our success as individuals, will be the extent to which we have empowered ourselves
and our sphere of influence—with the knowledge and confidence to face our biases and then, to create
change. As a nation, the measure of our success must be the position that Indigenous peoples find
themselves in. That is, a safe, equitable, equal and fair environment filled with prospect and hope.
Let’s celebrate the progress outlined in the 2021 report and take action on the data and the crucial focus
areas it illustrates. Let’s take an unapologetic, brave stance on racism to propel us faster towards a
reconciled nation. Only then can we once again look in the mirror and rejoice in what we have become.
Shelley Reys AO
Chief Executive Officer, Arrilla Indigenous Consulting 1
Preface
In 2016 Reconciliation Australia developed the first State of Importantly, we are seeing examples of this substantive work, with a number of RAP Partners
coming out in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and increasingly speaking up on
Reconciliation in Australia Report to mark 25 years of a formal issues important to First Peoples, or for example, engaging in Indigenous-led initiatives such as
reconciliation process in Australia through both the Council for justice reinvestment to reduce engagement with the criminal justice system. We are seeing it too
in the level of community support for truth-telling as the foundation stone upon which we can
Aboriginal Reconciliation and Reconciliation Australia. build reconciliation, and progress in the education system to teach more on Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. We are also seeing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander organisations demonstrating exceptional Indigenous leadership and governance,
The report identified for the first time the five dimensions of reconciliation that are necessary to
leading the way on improvements in equality for First Peoples.
achieve reconciliation in this country.
It is the examples set by these organisations, schools, communities and individuals articulated in
The dimensions—Historical Acceptance, Race Relations, Equality and Equity, Institutional
this report that can move us towards a braver reconciliation. One that places truth-telling at the
Integrity, and Unity—continue to form the basis upon which we understand the reconciliation
centre of how we move forward, that addresses racism, changes the systems to ensure
effort, track progress and identify areas of greater need. These dimensions are interdependent,
First Nations voices guide us, and ensures the rights of First Australians are recognised.
meaning sustained progress towards reconciliation can only occur when advancements are
made in every dimension.
Four years on, this report reflects on where we have come from, where we are today, where we
need to get to, and how we can get there. Karen Mundine
Chief Executive Officer,
It identifies significant areas of progress, including the now almost universal belief that the
relationship between First Peoples and other Australians is important. The report uses real Reconciliation Australia
examples as shining lights for how we can progress each dimension, and reconciliation overall.
It also identifies the challenges and areas that require greater effort in order to move forward. In
doing so, the report recognises that the reconciliation movement is at a tipping point, where we
as a nation need to move from ‘safe’ to ‘brave’ in order to realise the promise of reconciliation.
Having built a substantial network of organisations and individuals who have joined the
reconciliation movement through Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP); Narragunnawali:
Reconciliation in Education; National Reconciliation Week activities; Indigenous Governance
Awards and Corporate Partnerships; a series of national campaigns; State and Territory
Reconciliation Councils; and the many local reconciliation groups and networks, we must now
raise the bar of expectation.
Reconciliation cannot just be about raising awareness and knowledge. The skills and knowledge
gained should motivate us to ‘braver’ action. For reconciliation to be effective, it must involve
truth-telling, and actively address issues of inequality, systemic racism and instances where the
rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are ignored, denied or reduced. That is,
we need to move more of our effort from focussing on the preconditions for reconciliation, to
focussing on more substantive change.
In moving towards such change, it is also clear that to continue to build the network of
supporters, entry into the reconciliation space must still allow for a safe place to start on the
journey—to learn, to grow, to make mistakes and to build skills and capability.
2 3
Introduction The Five Dimensions of Reconciliation
Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between
The demand for reconciliation in Australia is as old as its European colonisation. Since the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous
first Europeans arrived on Australia’s shores and commenced an unequal, uneasy, and often
violent relationship with the continent’s hundreds of distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, for the benefit of all Australians. But how do we define
peoples, our shared history has seen calls for, and denials of, reconciliation and justice. what Australian reconciliation is, and how we will know when it has
From the earliest days of the British colonies there were demands from a few lonely coloniser been achieved?
voices to treat Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their cultural protocols with
respect. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, despite the dispossession, violence and
repressive racist policies they endured, have shown a generosity towards the new arrivals; In 2016, a quarter of a century after the formation of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
and since 1788 have repeatedly called for reconciliation and a coming together. and the start of the formal reconciliation process, Reconciliation Australia (RA) sought to do this
through an extensive consultation with stakeholders in Australia and by investigating similar
processes in other countries, such as New Zealand/Aotearoa, Canada and South Africa.
“The continent was occupied by our people and the footprints of our While reconciliation can mean different things to different people, Reconciliation Australia has
identified five integral and interrelated dimensions to measure reconciliation: race relations;
ancestors traversed the entire landscape. Our songlines covered vast equality and equity; institutional integrity; unity; and historical acceptance. These are the five
distances, uniting peoples in shared stories and religion. The entire land dimensions of reconciliation.
and seascape is named, and the cultural memory of our old people is These five dimensions do not exist in isolation; they are interrelated and Australia can only
written there. achieve full reconciliation if we progress in all five.
“This rich diversity of our origins was eventually ruptured by colonisation.
Violent dispossession and the struggle to survive a relentless inhumanity
has marked our common history.”1
Race Equality
Progress has been slow but in the past few decades Australia has made great advances towards Relations And Equity
the goal of a reconciled nation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait
All Australians understand
Progressing concurrently has been the restoration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and value Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples participate
Strait Islander and non-Indigenous equally in a range of life
rights won through the vigorous resistance of First Nations peoples and their demands for
cultures, rights and experiences, opportunities and the unique
self-determination, land rights, and recognition as Australia’s First Peoples. It has often been this rights of Aboriginal and
which results in stronger
resistance that has fuelled the advances towards reconciliation. From acts of armed resistance relationships based on Torres Strait Islander
in the early days of the colonies, to the formation of First Nations political organisations, the
progress of reconciliation and Indigenous rights have been intertwined.
trust and respect and that
are free of racism.
Unity peoples are recognised
and upheld.
The establishment of the formal reconciliation process was recommended in the final 1991 report An Australian society
that values and recognises
of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which itself arose after many years of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
strong advocacy and activism by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Islander cultures and heritage
as a proud part of a shared
In January 2001 the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) established Reconciliation
Australia (RA), to lead the national journey towards reconciliation. Among the key responsibilities
Institutional national identity. Historical
it outlined for the new organisation, few were more important than the task of reporting on Integrity Acceptance
Australia’s progress towards a reconciled country. The active support All Australians understand
This summary report captures key directions identified in the 2021 State of Reconciliation in of reconciliation by the and accept the wrongs of
nation’s political, business and the past and the impact of
Australia Report to do just that. In doing so, the report draws on the views of key leaders of
community structures. these wrongs. Australia makes
First Nations organisations and communities, and other key RA stakeholders;2 a series of amends for the wrongs of the
practical examples of reconciliation in action captured in the 2021 State of Reconciliation in past and ensures these wrongs
Australia Report;3 data from the Australian Reconciliation Barometer4 and desktop research are never repeated.
undertaken by Reconciliation Australia.
It describes the five dimensions of reconciliation, assesses where we are today, lays out some
practical actions that need to be taken if we are to continue to progress the reconciliation
process, and sets out some milestones in the nation’s reconciliation journey. The full State of
Reconciliation in Australia Report can be accessed at reconciliation.org.au
4 5
Race Relations Unity
All Australians understand and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous An Australian society that values and recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
cultures, rights and experiences, which results in stronger relationships based on trust and and heritage as a proud part of a shared national identity.
respect and that are free of racism.
Goal: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights are a valued and
Goal: Positive two-way relationships built on trust and respect exist between Aboriginal recognised part of a shared national identity and, as a result, there is national unity.
and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians throughout society.
Key Action: Celebrate, promote and enhance public education about First Peoples’
Key Action: Overcome racism. history, culture, and achievements.
Equality and Equity Historical Acceptance
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participate equally in a range of life opportunities and All Australians understand and accept the wrongs of the past that occurred, and their impact
the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are recognised and upheld. on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Australia makes amends for past policies and
practices and ensures these wrongs are never repeated.
Goal: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians participate equally and equitably
in all areas of life—i.e. we have closed the gaps in life outcomes—and the distinctive Goal: There is widespread acceptance of our nation’s history and agreement that the
individual and collective rights and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples wrongs of the past will never be repeated—there is truth, justice, healing and
are universally recognised and respected. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are historical acceptance.
self-determining.
Key Action: Acknowledge our past through truth-telling, education and understanding.
Key Action: Strengthen the focus on Closing the Gap; and support processes, programs
and approaches that give effect to self-determination, including through a voice to
parliament.
Institutional Integrity
The active support of reconciliation by the nation’s political, business and community structures.
Goal: Our political, business and community institutions actively support all dimensions
of reconciliation.
Key Action: Improve the protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights in
accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
6 7
Where we are today The ARB findings support this, revealing that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and
Australians in the general community, believe more must be done by government departments to
close the gap in health, justice, education, and employment.
Support for reconciliation has grown significantly over the past
three decades. There is a far greater awareness of the complexity
and magnitude of First Nations’ cultures and knowledges; and
many more Australians now understand and acknowledge the
brutal impact that British colonialism and the modern Australian
state have had on First Nations families and communities. Health Justice Education Employment
60% in the general 62% in the general 60% in the general 57% in the general
As one respondent to the Reconciliation Australia (RA) stakeholder interviews observed, community community community community
“The past 20 years and reconciliation? Growing awareness that we had not seen before. 73% of Aboriginal 71% of Aboriginal 72% of Aboriginal 64% of Aboriginal
Before this time people were not interested and did not want to know.” and Torres Strait and Torres Strait and Torres Strait and Torres Strait
Islander people Islander people Islander people Islander people
The 2020 Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB) evidence supports this view with 95% believe more believe more believe more believe more
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and 91% of the general community feeling our must be done must be done must be done must be done
relationship is important.5 by government by government by government by government
departments to departments to departments to departments to
close the gap. close the gap. close the gap. close the gap.10
95% Ninety-five per cent of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people and 91% of
Australians in the general community The anger and exasperation at the Government’s rejection of the Uluru Statement from the Heart
feel our relationship is important. was a constant theme in the interview of stakeholders with one respondent describing the Uluru
Statement from the Heart as “a guiding light”.
Many of the stakeholders interviewed look to the lack of progress in relation to the Uluru
Statement from the Heart as an indicator that Parliament is not keeping up with the broader
79% of Australians in the broader community now agree that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
community in progressing reconciliation.
cultures are important to Australia’s national identity.6
“There are signs of increasing impatience as to why this is not all fixed.”
The proportion of Australians in the general community who believe in the possibility of national
unity remains high at 72%. Similarly, 73% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people support The Voice to Parliament, a proposal that originated from the Uluru Statement from the Heart, was
the concept of unity.7 supported by 66%,11 which is in line with the broad community support in a 2019 Essential Poll
finding that 70% of 1,097 respondents support constitutional recognition.
While there have been some improvements in how First Nations peoples perceive the relationship
between non-Indigenous Australians and themselves, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander The desire to progress reconciliation was further demonstrated in the ARB with 61% in the
peoples experience of racism remains consistently and unacceptably high. There is an increasing general community (54% in 2018), and 78% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
proportion of Australians who acknowledge Australian racism and want to do something (73% in 2018) wanting to do something to improve reconciliation.12
about it.8
There was also a positive response to progressing truth-telling about our shared history.
Forty-three percent of the broader community and 60% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Three years after the Uluru Statement this need to truthfully tell and accept Australia’s history
people agree with the view of many of the stakeholders interviewed by Reconciliation Australia was overwhelmingly endorsed in the 2020 ARB with 93% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
that Australia remains a racist country.9 Islander people and 89% of Australians in the general community supporting formal truth-telling
processes in relation to Australia’s shared history.13
While a broad consensus remained among stakeholders that Australia has made progress
against the five dimensions, there is also a level of frustration at the slowness of progress and a
clear view that politicians are lagging behind public opinion and dragging the chain.
“In a broader sense the issue of reconciliation has been a positive story. In a political sense though
we are seeing a bare minimum of support. Just need the politics to catch up.”
93% 93% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
and 89% of Australians in the general community
supporting formal truth-telling processes in relation
to Australia’s shared history.
8 9
Fifteen percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Where we need to be in the future
continue to feel they cannot be true to their cultures at work;
14% in interactions with educational institutions; and 12% in Much has been achieved since the birth of the formal process of
interactions with government departments Australian reconciliation in 1991 but we have a long way to go and
there are things we must do better to expedite our arrival at a just,
Most of us also believe that education about our shared past is critical, with 83% of the general equitable and reconciled Australia.
community and 91% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people agreeing that it’s important
for Indigenous histories and cultures to be taught in schools.
The data provided by the Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB), feedback from stakeholder
Stakeholders interviewed noted the positive impact of Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) while interviews, and case studies of successful reconciliation initiatives, all of which are reported on
emphasising the need to do more. in more detail in the full 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report, provides us with some
“RAPs have become an important part of institutional integrity; helped change the narrative on good directions.
accountability and engagement with Aboriginal people, but still yet to truly change the culture and
processes in organisations.”14
It’s not all just black and white
More broadly, the ARB highlighted that more must be done to continue the improvement in
In 2016, nearly half (49%) of all Australians were either born overseas or had at least
institutional integrity both within and outside of Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) organisations.
one parent who was born overseas.16 There is a strong need to better engage with Australia’s
Fifteen per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to feel they cannot be
extensive culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. As one respondent pointed out
true to their cultures at work (19% in 2018); 14% in interactions with educational institutions
in the stakeholder interviews,
(17% in 2018); and 12% in interactions with government departments (19% in 2018).
“If we are talking reconciliation it cannot just be black and white. Look at the demographic
The Rio Tinto destruction of 46,000-year-old cultural heritage sites of the Puutu Kunti Kurama
of our country.”
and Pinikura (PKKP) Peoples, at Juukan Gorge, WA, was a significant rupture of a relationship
between a large corporate organisation and Traditional Owners of the land they mine. Another remarked simply,
It was met with widespread community shock and outrage; the suspension of the organisation “Race relations [is] also a major issue for new migrants.”
from the Reconciliation Action Plan program; a Senate Inquiry; shareholder action; and the CEO
This shared experience of Australian racism and a reduced exposure, and commitment to the
and two senior executives of Rio resigning. It highlighted the distance still to go in some areas,
mythology of Australia’s creation, make CALD communities natural allies in the movement for
and the increasing expectation of the Australian community to improve the relationship with
reconciliation. As Reconciliation Australia IT Officer and first generation Sri Lankan migrant,
First Peoples and take bolder action towards reconciliation.
Suminda Gunaratne, wrote in Reconciliation News,
It also showed that there are real consequences when expectations are not met and
organisations fail to enact their commitments to reconciliation.
“Within Australia’s migrant communities there is an overwhelming desire for greater knowledge about
Alongside the disappointments, there is strong evidence of progress in Australia’s journey
Australia’s history and friendships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We need to
towards reconciliation, expanded upon in the full 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report.
engage better with these communities and tap into their goodwill.”17
This progress is borne out of data in the Australian Reconciliation Barometer, the RAP Impact
Measurement Report, the many case studies of success and progress, and is the consensus
from the stakeholders interviewed by Reconciliation Australia. This desire is being acted on within Australia’s CALD communities as they increasingly engage
We are moving closer to becoming a reconciled nation, with First Nations peoples, with the peak national CALD communities body, FECCA (Federation
of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia), launching its “Encouraging Engagement” guide
“[There is a] growing awareness that we had not seen before. Before this time people were not
during National Reconciliation Week 2020.18
interested and did not want to know.”15
There is, however, much more to do. It is possible that as we move closer to achieving some of
the key prerequisites, such as truth-telling, negotiations around treaties, and greater control by
First Nations peoples over their own affairs, the reconciliation journey will become more difficult.
But it is the more difficult, substantive change that will propel us towards a more
reconciled country.
10 11
Strength in the local street
Local communities are where reconciliation is lived and felt and effort is required to energise and
Areas for action: 2021 onwards
engage at a local level.
One of the stakeholders interviewed by Reconciliation Australia noted that, Moving towards a braver reconciliation requires a vision for what
“It was an enormous grassroots movement in the early days and with the local reconciliation a reconciled Australia looks like. To do this, clear future directions
action groups. Mums and dads of Australia came together to learn and to start to build guided by the five dimensions of reconciliation are needed.
relationships with Aboriginal people in their area. The local movement is however not as strong
as it was.”
Many respondents pointed to the effectiveness of reconciliation in local communities and
stressed the important role of local government in such a process. In addition, case studies RACE RELATIONS
provide countless examples of local governments initiating local change across the five
dimensions.
It is also at this local level where the stakeholder interviews highlighted the critical importance Actions
of truth-telling and the opportunities this presents local communities to progress reconciliation • Maintain legal protections against racism
based on historical acceptance.
• Support public campaigns against racism
• Support public education on First Nations cultures and histories
‘Braver’ RAPs • Reform mainstream service delivery, and workplaces, to address systemic racism and
While there was strong recognition of the positive role played by the Reconciliation Action Plan promote cultural safety and improve accountability
(RAP) program, some respondents in the stakeholder interviews questioned some components • Address justice issues that impact the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait
of the program. Islander people and institutions including addressing over-incarceration, rates of family
One view was that RAPs are sometimes a box-ticking exercise, and that the partnerships with violence, and children in out-of-home care.
First Nations peoples were often unequal. Respondents called for more First Nations control of
agenda, and greater emphasis on supporting First Nations self-determination.
Respondents also argued that RAP organisations should be more prepared to advocate on some This evidence gathered in the full 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report demonstrates
of the harder issues confronting First Nations communities; such as child removal, incarceration that addressing Australian racism and building positive race relationships will progress
and over-policing, rather than concentrating on less controversial issues such as culture and reconciliation across many of the five dimensions including closing the gaps in health and other
caring for Country. So too, should they be prepared to consider their role in these issues, indicators, which is so necessary for achieving equality and equity.
how they might support, or how they might be contributing to, issues that impact First
Addressing the many justice issues that have been the subject of significant government inquiries
Peoples negatively.
and acting on findings and recommendations, should be a priority in order to improve the
relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, government and government
National recognition institutions.19
The Uluru Statement from the Heart and a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament remains More broadly, overcoming racism must be a national priority. There must be a zero-tolerance
the strongest proposal to achieve self-determination, with stakeholder interviews, the 2020 approach to racism, backed by effective institutional and legislative settings, and supported by
Australian Reconciliation Barometer, and other recent national polling all expressing strong public education. Australian institutions must be more active in calling out and condemning all
support for it. racism both at the individual and systemic levels, including any racism in our parliaments.
The recommendations of the final report of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) as well Maintaining the current protections against racial discrimination in both state and federal
as the unimplemented recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in jurisdictions is a critical shield against racism suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Custody, and the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and many other Australians, particularly people of colour and culturally and linguistically
Islander Children from Their Families, remain vital. diverse communities.
Legislative protection against racism must remain strong, and attempts to wind back protections
under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA) and other protective legislation must
be resisted.
12 13
EQUALITY AND EQUITY
But more must be done to free Australia from the distorting and divisive effects of racism.
Racism is a consequence of ignorance; so community education and awareness-raising
on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories is essential for reducing and
eliminating racism.
Anti-racism campaigns such as the Racism. It Stops with Me campaign should be Actions
supported by government so that they can continue their work and outreach. The campaign • All future policy development, implementation and monitoring of Indigenous Affairs is
provides the community with important tools to help make change and learn more about done in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their
racism, respond effectively when racism occurs, be a good ally, and act for positive change.20 representative bodies
Strong condemnation of racism such as the “Eagles Condemn Racism” video released by AFL • The calls in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, including for a constitutionally
club, the West Coast Eagles, and the “RISEUP” campaign launched by Basketball Australia and enshrined Voice to Parliament, should be supported by parliaments, corporate and civil
the Australian women’s national team, the Opals, are guiding lights for other organisations and society, and the broader community
institutions to look to and emulate in reducing racism.21 • Governments must appropriately resource national, regional, local and traditional owner,
Workplaces, schools and individuals should consider how they can support a greater independent, representative bodies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
understanding of how unconscious bias can function, and how we can actively intervene, • Governments, working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
disrupt and challenge racism. peoples, must address each of the social and economic gaps experienced by
Schools and the early childhood sector are critical to achieving this change as well. Maintaining First Peoples
Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali: Education in Reconciliation program and other • Governments must raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to at least 14 to bring
initiatives such as The Healing Foundation’s Stolen Generations Resource Kit for Teachers and it into line with international human rights standards.
Students, will remain critical in helping our education sector to increase understanding of our
history and promote unity.22
They are also important for revealing and working against unconscious bias and systemic racism The ongoing failure to close the gap in equality between First Peoples and non-Indigenous
within the education system. people, and ensure the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is realised,
respected and enjoyed by First Australians suggest a clear need to lift our national effort on
achieving equality and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Leadership must
come from governments working in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
representatives.
The announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in 2019, of a partnership between the
Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the First Nations’ Coalition of Peaks, was a
welcome initiative. In the 2016 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report, Reconciliation Australia
had joined with many First Nations peak organisations and called for COAG to extend and
expand the Closing the Gap targets in a formal partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples. It is positive that this has been acted on.
This partnership means that not only do the deliberations around the Closing the Gap strategy
and targets finally have some meaningful First Nations participation, but we have, for the first
time, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people sitting at the national table as partners.
This partnership is a good first step towards one of the key pillars of reconciliation—that all
future policy development, implementation and monitoring is done in genuine partnership with
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their representative bodies. It is imperative that
Governments engage in the partnership discussions and negotiations in good faith and act on
the advice of those who know best how to address the issues that affect them.
14 15
INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITY
However, the principle that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people must have a decisive
voice in matters that affect them—a cornerstone of the equality and equity dimension of
reconciliation—is far from being implemented across the board.
In the eloquent words of the Uluru Statement from the Heart,
“When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and Actions
their culture will be a gift to their country.”23
• Governments, corporate organisations, and civil society must recognise the importance
Reconciliation Australia urges the Australian Government to support the calls in the Uluru of, and honour commitments enshrined in, the UN Declaration on the Rights of
Statement from the Heart, including for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament. It should Indigenous Peoples and work proactively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
maintain national, regional, local, and traditional owner, independent, representative bodies for people to incorporate its aims into domestic policy, legislation, and business practices
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and create respectful partnerships and engagement that impact First Peoples
with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, communities and organisations. • RAP organisations should speak up on, and engage with a range of issues, including
those that may attract controversy, such as constitutional reform, treaties, truth-telling,
over-incarceration, children in out-of-home care, justice reinvestment, and closing the
gaps in equality.
The results from the stakeholder interviews show recognition that institutional integrity is
improving. The Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program is seen as a major contributing factor
to this trend.
The public support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart by some of Australia’s biggest
companies is evidence of this, however, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants in our
interviews suggest ways to improve the RAP program and the integrity of RAP organisations.
While expanding the RAP program and the influence of reconciliation in Australia’s leading
corporate, sporting, cultural and educational organisations is crucial, it is also important to ensure
greater accountability and an increased commitment to First Nations leadership in partnerships
and their primary role in setting priorities.
RAP partners are facilitating change, increasing employment opportunities for First Nations
peoples, educating their own workforces and directly assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander organisations with funding and/or skills and expertise.
However, there is an opportunity to build on this and move into a braver space by speaking up
on a range of issues including those that may attract controversy—such as deaths in custody,
over-policing, over-incarceration, and child removal.
There is also an opportunity for RAP partners to interrogate their own businesses to ensure they
are supporting the principles established in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples.
Increasing the appetite to speak up, and critically test their organisations’ practices and
approaches on critical rights-based issues for First Peoples, can help build stronger long-term
relationships so critical to true reconciliation.
There is a role for the business sector, the civil (for purpose) sector, and more broadly, the RAP
community, in supporting the equal participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
in a range of life opportunities. Likewise, the active support of Australia’s largest and wealthiest
companies can add significant weight to advocacy for the unique rights of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples to be recognised and upheld. And they can interrogate their own role in
relation to the realisation and enjoyment of those rights. This should involve considering how their
business operates and helps or hinders equality and equity for First Peoples. Public statements
should be matched by actions within the everyday operations of the organisation.
16 17UNITY HISTORICAL ACCEPTANCE
Actions Actions
• Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should value First Peoples • Governments at a federal, state and local level should support truth-telling in local
cultures and ways of doing in governing, education curricula, business practices, and communities to build national understanding of our shared past, and build a culture and
media representation movement of truth-telling
• Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should support initiatives • Governments and institutions should build greater public recognition of Aboriginal
that celebrate, promote and enhance public education about First Peoples’ history, and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in the public domain including through
culture, and achievements memorialisation, plaques, renaming places, and sharing and re-storying
• Governments, corporate, education and media institutions should promote discussion • Governments and universities should support increased scholarship to investigate
about enhancing our national identity by embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia’s frontier wars and massacres
culture and history into our national story. • Governments, working with our educational institutions, should work with First Peoples
to improve the teaching of First Nations history and culture in our schools.
Governments, corporate organisations, education and media institutions must contribute to, and
support unity. Central to this is undertaking and supporting initiatives that celebrate, promote and Just as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are missing from the Australian Constitution,
enhance public education about First Peoples’ history, culture, and achievements. This should so too is much of Australia’s telling of its history silent on the occupation of Australia by its
become part of everyday business as a way of enhancing our national identity and celebrating First Nations peoples. Too often, our history covers up the brutal nature of colonisation, and
the oldest living culture on the planet. leaves out the resilience and contribution by First Peoples.
There are many examples of initiatives to draw from. The Mossman State School in Far North The effective advocacy by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the three decades
Queensland is currently teaching its students the local Aboriginal language, Yalanji, with of the reconciliation process, have all been part of a relearning of Australian history in which the
great success. Fifty years ago, speaking Yalanji in the playground of this same school was a myth of peaceful settlement by courageous European pioneers is making way for a more
punishable misdemeanour, but today the Elders who experienced this repression of their mother truthful representation.
tongue are working with teachers and education officials to bring their language to the
broader community. To develop a deeper reconciliation process, Australia must also develop a deeper understanding
of the complexity of pre-colonisation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in order to
In the small historic town of Braidwood in NSW, local non-Indigenous residents advocated appreciate what was disrupted or lost.
for, funded and erected a large tribute to the local Dhurga Yuin, acknowledging their ancient
connection to local Country. Local Catholic school, St Bedes, is also running language classes in All Australians need to understand a fuller account of our shared history and its impact on
the local Dhurga language. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society post-colonisation, as well as Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples’ contribution to the nation.
These are good examples of how communities, and their local schools, are developing
educational programs that other schools can draw on. Supporting similar projects on a national This should involve initiatives to build greater public recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
scale, and ensuring our institutions are progressing the broader community’s understanding Islander histories and cultures such as memorialisation, plaques, renaming places, and sharing
and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, achievements and ways of doing is and re-storying—including through the arts, establishment of museums, local community
important to progressing unity. It is also an opportunity for the whole nation to forge a national memorials and monuments. A national effort across these areas should involve collaborating to
identity that is uniquely Australian, of this continent, and inclusive. re-story, reconcile and heal, including through local reconciliation committees, advocacy, and
partnerships across the Australian community.
There still remains considerable work to be done in this regard. In May 2020, this was starkly
evident as a result of the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara Such community truth-telling can underpin and support a widespread movement of truth-telling
region of Western Australia. The loss to the Puutu Kunti Kurama and Pinikura (PKKP) Peoples, and build understanding of our shared history. It can help pave the way to a more formalised
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as the broader community, and indeed the truth-telling process.
world is hard to comprehend. Developing greater understanding of the role of truth-telling in reconciliation, through initiatives
Valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage forms one of the critical building such as the Truth-Telling Symposium held jointly by Reconciliation Australia and The Healing
blocks of forging a more unified nation. Emerging from the work of the Council for Aboriginal Foundation are critical to informing the next steps in truth-telling.25
Reconciliation in the 1990s, the Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation stated that,
“Our hope is for a united Australia that respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all.”24
18 19Community truth-telling can underpin and support a Some key milestones in Australian Reconciliation
widespread movement of truth-telling and build understanding *Note: this is not an exhaustive list.
of our shared history. It can help pave the way to a more
formalised truth-telling process Approximately First evidence of Aboriginal occupation in Australia.
80,000 BCE
An evaluation of the RAP partnership between EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and the Wollotuka 1788 British establish a colony at Port Jackson Sydney on Gadigal Country.
Institute at the University of Newcastle showed increasing positive connections among Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander employees and their non-Indigenous colleagues within organisations.26 1797 The settlement of Parramatta is attacked by a large group of Bidjigal warriors
led by Pemulwuy.
Such improvements in relationship increase the awareness of non-Indigenous employees, about
history and First Nations cultures, through cultural awareness trainings, online learning and 1834 Western Australian Governor, James Stirling, leads an attack on the
cultural learning programs. Binjareb Noonga in the Pinjarra Massacre leaving an estimated 70 men, women
Reconciliation ’Australia’s Narragunnawali program and The Healing Foundation’s education and children dead.
program are also having an impact.
1901 The Commonwealth of Australia is formed without any consultation with
In the education sector, the 2020 Australian Reconciliation Barometer showed that 61% of Australia’s First Nations.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and 43% of the general public agreed it is very
important for Indigenous history to be a compulsory part of the school curriculum.27 1914 -1918 1,300 Indigenous soldiers, out of an estimated Indigenous population of
80,000, served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War.
There is scope to strengthen commitment to historical truth-telling within our education sector. Around 250 to 300 soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice.
1931 Doris Pilkington Garimara and two other girls begin their epic escape back to
Jigalong as documented in the book, Rabbit Proof Fence.
1938 Day of Mourning protests by Aboriginal men and women gathered at Australia
Hall in Sydney. The participants at the first Day of Mourning came from across
Australia to continue a struggle that had begun 150 years previously.
1948 The Commonwealth Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 (Cth) creates
“Australian citizenship” for the first time. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are technically included as citizens but are still unable to vote—one of
the key privileges of citizenship.
1959 Malera/Bundjalung woman, Margaret Williams-Weir, becomes the first
Aboriginal person to graduate from university when she is awarded a Diploma
of Physical Education from the University of Melbourne. She went on to
complete a PhD at the University of New England.
1962 The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 is amended to enable all Indigenous
Australians to enrol to vote in federal elections, with Queensland becoming the
last State to grant Indigenous Queenslanders the right to vote in State elections
in 1965.
1966 In the Wave Hill walk-off, two hundred Gurindji stockmen, house servants and
their families—employed by Lord Vestey’s Pastoral Company at Wave Hill,
NT—went on strike to get their tribal lands returned.
1967 More than 90% of Australians vote “Yes” in a referendum to allow the Australian
Government to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
1971 Jagera man, Neville Bonner, becomes the first Aboriginal person to sit in the
Australian Parliament as a Queensland Senator for the Liberal Party.
1972 The Aboriginal Embassy is erected in front of Australia’s Parliament House in
Canberra to demand land and other rights.
1976 Kuku Yalanji woman, Pat O’Shane, becomes Australia’s first Aboriginal barrister.
20 211984 Arrernte and Kalkadoon man, Charles Perkins, appointed head of the 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologises to the Stolen Generations on
Department of Aboriginal Affairs becoming the first Indigenous person to head behalf of the Australian Parliament and people.
up an Australian Government department.
2010 Noongar man, Ken Wyatt, becomes the first Aboriginal member of the House of
1985 Uluru is handed back to its Anangu owners with the Anangu leasing the Representatives after winning the Perth seat of Hasluck for the Liberal Party.
land back to the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service for 99 years with joint
management arrangements. 2013 The Australian Parliament passes with bi-partisan support the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Bill 2012, recognising the unique and
1988 The Barunga Statement, demanding rights and recognition for Aboriginal special place of First Nations peoples as the original owners of the Australian
peoples, is presented to Prime Minister Bob Hawke and tens of thousands of continent and islands.
Australians protest lack of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander rights during
Australia’s Bicentenary. 2016 South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory announce their intention to
commence Treaty discussions with First Nations peoples.
1990 The Hawke Government establishes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Commission in an attempt to provide greater First Nations control of affairs. 2017 The National Constitutional Convention at Uluru releases the Uluru Statement
from the Heart, a unified statement to the Australian people calling for an
1991 The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presents its final Indigenous voice to parliament, the establishment of a Makarrata Commission
report and recommendations to the Australian Parliament, including calling for a to develop agreements or treaties, and a process of truth-telling.
process of national reconciliation.
The Turnbull Government rejects the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Australian Parliament unanimously passes the Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation Act 1991 (Cth), formally launching a process of national 2018 Victoria becomes the first Australian state to pass Treaty legislation when it
reconciliation. passes the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act
2018 (VIC).
1992 The High Court recognises the Meriam people’s ownership of Mer (Murray
Island) in the Torres Strait and overturns the fallacious legal concept of terra 2019 Queensland and the Northern Territory establish their own processes towards a
nullius after a long legal battle by Koiki Mabo and other plaintiffs. treaty with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations.
1993 In response to the High Court’s Mabo decision the Keating Government passes The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape of the Gunditjmara Nation, a 6,600-year-old
the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) providing a mechanism for Aboriginal and Torres Aboriginal aquaculture site in south-west Victoria, is added to the UNESCO
Strait Islander peoples to claim back some of their ancestral lands. World Heritage List.
1996 The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation expands the Week of Prayer for 2020 Tens of thousands of Australians attend Black Lives Matter marches in cities
Reconciliation to launch Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. across the country to protest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in
custody and high rates of incarceration of First Nations peoples.
1997 The Bringing Them Home report on Australia’s Stolen Generations is launched
at the inaugural Australian Reconciliation Convention in Melbourne attended by Mining company Rio Tinto destroys two 46,000-year-old sites in the Juukan
nearly 2,000 people. Gorge, Pilbara, and is suspended from the Reconciliation Action Plan
community; Senate Inquiry held; CEO and two senior executives resign.
1998 National Sorry Day is commemorated for the first time.
Vincent Namatjira wins the 2020 Archibald prize for his portrait of Adam
2000 Hundreds of thousands of Australians walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Goodes, becoming the first Indigenous artist to win in its 99-year history.
other bridges around Australia, to show support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander aspirations. Meyne Wyatt awarded 2020 Archibald Packing Room Prize for self-portrait,
becoming the first Indigenous artist to be awarded the prize in its
Noongar writer, Kim Scott, becomes the first Aboriginal writer to win the 99-year history.
Miles Franklin Award—Australia’s most prestigious fiction prize—for his
novel, Benang. Hubert Pareroultja wins the Wynne Prize for his painting of Tjoritja (West
MacDonnell Ranges, NT), becoming the fifth Indigenous artist in a row to win
2001 Reconciliation Australia is established. the prize.
2004 The Australian Government creates a memorial to the Stolen Generations at
Reconciliation Place in Canberra.
2007 The Australian Parliament suspends the Racial Discrimination Act (Cth) in order
to implement the so-called Emergency Intervention into Aboriginal communities
in the Northern Territory.
National Indigenous Television (NITV) is launched.
22 23End notes
1. Ulurustatement.org, from Our Story, available at: www.ulurustatement.org/our-story
2. From May to March of 2020, Reconciliation Australia undertook a series of interviews with stakeholders on the state
of reconciliation. Those interviewed included leaders of national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations,
leaders of relevant non-Indigenous organisations, corporate leaders and RAP partners.
3. Reconciliation Australia has collected a range of case studies identifying examples of effective reconciliation across
the framework of the five dimensions. These case studies provide evidence of what reconciliation looks like in
practice, through the individuals and groups who are making a difference. These are the stories we want readers to
remember when they think about reconciliation in Australia.
4. Since 2008, Reconciliation Australia has biennially surveyed the views of the Australian public about reconciliation
and related issues. Known as the Australian Reconciliation Barometer (ARB or “the Barometer”), the survey is a key
tool for helping understand how the nation is performing on its journey towards reconciliation.
5. Reconciliation Australia, Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2020, available at: www.reconciliation.org.au
6. ibid.
7. ibid.
8. ibid.
9. ibid.
10. Reconciliation Australia, Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2020, available at: www.reconciliation.org.au
11. Essential Poll 2019, available at:
www.essentialvision.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Essential-Report-280619.pdf
12. ibid.
13. Reconciliation Australia, Australian Reconciliation Barometer, 2020.
14. Reconciliation Australia, Stakeholder Interviews, Reconciliation Australia 2020.
15. Reconciliation Australia, Stakeholder Interviews, 2020.
16. ABS, 2017, Cultural Diversity in Australia – 2016 Census Data Summary, available at: www.abs.gov.au
17. Gunaratne, S. 2013, A migrant on the Journey to Recognition, Reconciliation News, available at:
www.reconciliation.org.au
18. Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia, 2019. Encouraging Engagement: A guide for multicultural
organisations to engage in reconciliation. (Consultation draft), available at: http://fecca.org.au/wp-content/
uploads/2020/05/FECCA-Encouraging-Engagement_v3-Consultation-Draft-SINGLES-1.pdf
19. See for example: The Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody; The National Inquiry into the Separation
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families (Bringing them home); Parliamentary (Cth) Inquiry
into Stolen Wages.
20. Australian Human Rights Commission, 2020, Racism. It Stops with Me campaign, available at:
https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/
21. Stocks, G., 2019, Eagles’ plea to stop racism, available at www.westcoasteagles.com.au; Opals Ask Australia to
“Rise Up” in support of Black Lives Matter, 2020, available at www.australia.basketball
22. Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education, available at: www.reconciliation.org.au/narragunnawali;
Healing Foundation - Stolen Generations Resource Kit:
healingfoundation.org.au/resources/stolen-generations-resource-kit-teachers-students
23. Uluru Statement from the Heart, Referendum Council 26 May 2017, available at: www.ulurustatement.org
24. Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, Reconciliation: Australia’s challenge, final report to the Prime Minister and the
Commonwealth Parliament, December 2000. Appendix 1. Available at:
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RA_RAP-Impact-Report-2019_web.pdf
25. Reconciliation Australia/The Healing Foundation, 2018 Truth Telling Symposium.
26. https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RA_RAP-Impact-Report-2019_web.pdf
27. Reconciliation Australia, Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2020, available at: www.reconciliation.org.au
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